Historica Olomucensia vol. 61 (2021), 242-256 | DOI: 10.5507/ho.2021.029

Konec "piva a sendvičů". Odbory v britské politice devadesátých let 20. století

Karel Pučelík
Vejprnická 16, 318 00 Plzeň

Tato studie je věnována vývoji politiky upravující fungování odborových svazů ve Velké Británii v devadesátých letech 20. století. Autor analyzuje přístupy vlád Johna Majora a Tonyho Blaira. V případě Majorova konzervativního kabinetu sleduje převážně návaznost na politiku předchozí premiérky Margaret Thatcherové, která kladla důraz na přesun kolektivních práv svazů na jejich jednotlivé členy a omezení stávek a protestů. Naopak Tony Blair měl za úkol nastavit vztahy mezi odborovými svazy a Labouristickou stranou na nových základech. Odbory totiž měly mezi labouristy tradičně velký vliv, ale tato praxe s konceptem New Labour vstřícným k soukromému sektoru nemohla fungovat dohromady. Po vstupu do vlády se také strana musela vyrovnat s dědictvím ekonomického thatcherismu. Autor ale také konstatuje, že nelze veškeré viny či zásluhy za změny fungování britských odborů připisovat jen politické sféře, ale je třeba sledovat i vývoj ekonomiky, zejména pak posilování sektoru služeb, na který museli odboráři reagovat.

Keywords: Velká Británie, odbory, thatcherismus, New Labour, John Major, Tony Blair, ekonomika

The End of "Beer and Sandwiches": Trade Unions in British Politics of the 1990s

The study addresses the development of politics related to the functioning of trade unions in Great Britain in the 1990s. The author analyses the approaches taken by the governments of John Major and Tony Blair. With regard to Major's conservative administration, the study primarily analyses its link to the policies of the previous Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher, who emphasised a transfer of collective rights from unions to their individual members and restrictions on strikes and protests. In contrast, Tony Blair's objective was to establish the relationship between trade unions and the Labour Party on a new basis, since trade unions traditionally had a major influence on the Labour Party, although this practice and the concept of New Labour, friendly to the private sector, could not work simultaneously. Having taken the governance, the party also had to deal with the heritage of economic Thatcherism. However, as the author remarks, all the blame or merit related to changes in the functioning of British trade unions cannot only be attributed to the political sector. It is also important to take into account the development of the economy, particularly the strengthening of the service sector, which had to be dealt with by trade unions.

Keywords: Great Britain, Trade unions, Thatcherism, New Labour, John Major, Tony Blair, Economy

Published: December 11, 2021  Show citation

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Pučelík, K. (2021). The End of "Beer and Sandwiches": Trade Unions in British Politics of the 1990s. Historica Olomucensia, 61(vol. 61), 242-256. doi: 10.5507/ho.2021.029
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